We all know that 2020 was “year zero” for travel and tourism, the wider effects of a giant drop in tourism volumes are yet to be seen worldwide.
The overall impact will not likely be fully understood until the end of 2022, as in Autumn 2021 severe travel restrictions are again in place in many countries and continents – including Europe and Italy –international travel is still suffering

Alongside the drop in numbers, the travel sector has been facing a change in travelers’ behavior: “the end of travel as we know it” as a major British newspaper announced in June 2020. Traveling is no longer seen as a pure sightseeing trip, nor as a “classical-style” holiday – sun, beach, relax.

In the North East of Italy, we are witnessing a new way of experiencing a destination.
During summer 2021, Veneto – the region of Venice – saw European tourists – mainly Austrian, German and Dutch – book longer stays in the hills or in the countryside. They stayed in farms; country houses or B&B’s surrounded by nature and stunning landscape views.
According to preliminary interviews during that period, property owners reported how, between June and September 2021, the majority of their European guests booked 7 night stays versus – the classical “weekend – 2 nights stay that included the average stay in the Prosecco hills area up to 2019. Visitors spent more time in the surrounding area – enjoying a range of activities – from outdoor sports to wine-and-food experiences.

“Transformative travel”: a slower way of traveling across inner territories not as ‘tourist’ – “seeing-the-sights” – but rather “living and acting like a local” to  experience differently and go back home positively transformed. In an aspirational way.

This attitude to learn and experience is shaping the classical definition of Cultural Tourism. “A type of tourism in which the visitor’s essential motivation is to learn, discover, experience and consume the tangible and intangible cultural attractions/products in a touristic destination” – UNWTO, 2017 – to which “arts and architecture, historical and cultural heritage, culinary heritage, literature, music, creative industries and the living cultures with their lifestyles, value systems, beliefs and traditions” were related.

Now, enjoying a destination as a temporary citizen – on holiday or working remotely – being respectful of the local environment, population and tradition is an effective way and new form of cultural travel.

The impact of this new trend on cultural tourism business is immense.
To start with, it translates into an increased access to museums, even in inner areas.
Last September 4th, the Italian Ministry of Culture declared that between May and August 2021 – 4 million people visited the network of National Museums, in turn benefiting the entire ecosystem surrounding cultural sites. A return – supported by a robust influx of domestic tourists – homogeneous within the whole cultural network that includes cultural sites in small villages as well as internal areas.

As often happens, however, the visitor’s demand for a new approach to travel and culture is not yet corresponding to an equal understanding, by many operators, of the Italian culture and tourism industries.

Art cities such as Venice, Florence, Rome, Milan and Naples are still suffering from the constant lack of overseas tourism from the USA, Middle East and Asia. The majority of tour operators and accommodation services are only partially active; due to the dificulty to re-shape/adapt their offer in answering to a traveler’s new needs.

While it is true that ‘mass-tourism’ will never die, we must consider that recent changes in culture and tourism are here to stay and more and more cultural traveler will prefer to visit art cities in a slower, more authentic way by feeling that they are part of a local community of residents and enjoying cultural sites as temporary citizens.

Destinations (i.e. DMOs and local Municipalities) should softly-’influence’ traditional travel operators through this transition by adapting cities’ cultural offer to new needs and by working with them for the creation of services and experiences that match this new cultural demand.

For example, more international visibility could be given to smaller museums and local festivals engaging tour operators in the promotion of such cultural sites through their international network of resellers. There appears to be a need to support effective dialogue between culture and tourism, two worlds which are still incredibly distanced.

Most importantly, it becomes necessary to reach a new understanding of modern travel.
Museums still tend to look at tourism as a problem to avoid, blaming operators for bringing in low budget, un-respectful visitors, unaware of the heritage value of the site they are visiting. On the other hand, tour operators blame museums both for the lack of advanced programming and commercial strategy.

Culture and tourism sectors need to adapt to an integrated view of the visitor.
One visitor: a temporary resident eager to experience the city genuinely as well as a traveler with whom to establish a relationship with prior, during or even after his/her stay.

Cultural operators need to showcase their unique values/content well before the arrival of their target visitor to the destination, through effective partnerships with international tour operators that can enhance results.
Tourism operators need to view the duration of the travel experience to include the period following the departure of their guest, with key support of museums and cultural institution.
The Observatory on Digital Innovation in Tourism of the Politecnico di Milano, names this concept “never-ending tourism” identifying it in “the extension of the travel experience in time and space, made possible by digital solutions. It gives the opportunity for tourism companies to arrange products and processes designed to propose an experience that is not limited to the time of the visit at the destination but is, in fact, never-ending.”